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The article is devoted to the consideration of topical issues of initiation of forensic examinations by the defence counsel, as well as forensic support of this activity. The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that the initiation of forensic examinations by the defence counsel is an important aspect of the criminal process which affects not only the formation of the evidence base for the prosecution, but also for the defence, which can establish the circumstances that justify or mitigate the responsibility of the defendant. The article focuses on the fact that the defence counsel may obtain an expert opinion in three ways at the stage of pre-trial investigation: 1) defence counsel's independent request to an expert or an expert institution to conduct an expert examination; 2) defence counsel's initiation of a forensic examination by an investigating judge; 3) defence counsel's initiation of a forensic examination by an investigator, coroner, or prosecutor. It is noted that the organisational activities of a defence counsel who plans to initiate a forensic examination before an investigator, coroner, or prosecutor include three stages: preparatory, working, and final. The author analyses all three stages of organisational activities of a defence counsel who plans to initiate a forensic examination, both from the criminal procedural and forensic sides. The author emphasises that when filing a relevant motion, a defence counsel should always clearly understand what specific purpose is being pursued and what result is desirable f rom the defence perspective. The author comes to the conclusion that forensic support for the defence counsel's initiation of forensic examinations to the investigator, coroner, prosecutor is provided in the process of: preparation, submission of a petition, and familiarisation with the results of the examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides an overview of the Ayotzinapa investigation in Mexico, focusing on the actions of the López Obrador administration. It discusses the forced disappearance of 43 students in 2014 and highlights the collapse of the investigation due to actions taken by high-ranking officials. The document reveals evidence of the military's involvement and their attempts to obstruct the investigation. The families of the missing students express frustration with the lack of progress and difficulties in accessing military archives. Overall, the document sheds light on the challenges faced in seeking justice for the victims and their families. The article discusses the manipulation and obstruction of the investigation into the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico in 2014. It highlights the discovery of video evidence that contradicts the official narrative and details the government's efforts to control the investigation. The families of the missing students express frustration with President López Obrador's lack of transparency and his support for the Army. The article concludes by emphasizing the ongoing struggle of the families to find justice for their loved ones. [Extracted from the article]

Indigenous and campesino groups in Guatemala have launched a national strike to challenge the legal pressure being placed on president-elect Bernardo Arévalo and his Movimiento Semilla party. The strike involves blockades on major roads and the participation of various civil society groups, including university students, healthcare workers, and market vendors. The protesters are demanding the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras and special prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, who they believe are responsible for preventing Arévalo from assuming office. The strike represents a clash between the communal form of political organization embraced by Indigenous communities and the authoritarian form of the Guatemalan state. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of BE N'ius - Beiträge aus der Berner Justiz Contributions de la Justice Bernoise is the property of University Library of Bern and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The issue of transitional justice in Mexico, through the Special Prosecutor’s Office that functioned between 2001 and 2006, continues to be ignored in academia. Most existing studies assume that the Special Prosecutor’s Office was created to generate results to contribute to the consolidation of Mexican democracy, in particular truth and justice. They also point out that this institution failed because it did not achieve truth or justice. They do not agree, however, on the reasons for this failure, such as lack of political will, lack of trained personnel, and clumsy legal strategies. This article moves away from these interpretations and traces the genealogy of the Special Prosecutor’s Office. It critically analyzes the crucial role played in transitional justice by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), an institution that has so far been ignored in studies on the subject. The argument framing this research is that, in Mexico, transitional justice was designed by the CNDH in such a way that it contributed to the perpetuation of injustice. This article seeks to show that it is not that the Special Prosecutor’s Office has failed on the ground, but that from its inception was designed to generate impunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-corruption agencies in Ghana have failed over the years to deal with corruption and also take decisive steps in tackling the menace. For this reason inter alia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in 2018 established the Office of the Special Prosecutor as an institutional response to deal assertively with the issue of corruption. This action expanded the scope and discourse on the fight against corruption in Ghana. Following from this, the paper conceptualised the new institutional endeavour to control corruption in Ghana, simply as the 'judicialization of corruption'. By judicialization of corruption, the paper meant to portray a phenomenon where there is the use of judiciary and judicial processes in fighting corruption. Coming on the back of a political campaign promise, the paper seemly tested Ghanaian voters' view on this new anti-corruption arrangement by the government and puts forward a broad-spectrum of views by voters regarding the creation of the OSP. The paper used mixed method to triangulate both qualitative and quantitative data. The result showed majority of voters backing government's idea to create the OSP albeit a sizeable number perceiving the OSP as a mere conduit to 'witch-hunt' erstwhile government officials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The project "Mental Wellbeing" at the Free University of Berlin offers psychological counseling for students and staff. Due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, many young adults are struggling with mental illnesses. The project provides easily accessible counseling at ten locations on campus. The advantages and disadvantages of decentralized counseling compared to centralized counseling are discussed. The project aims to develop preventive measures that are closely linked to life and work in the departments. Support points have been set up where psychologists offer counseling sessions and group events. The offer is mainly aimed at students but is available to all members of the Free University of Berlin. Since October 2022, approximately 400 people have already used the service. The project offers support for various mental stressors in student life, such as procrastination, pressure to perform, and uncertainty. Events and workshops on the psychological backgrounds of writer's block and exam anxiety are also offered. The project collaborates with various departments and also provides training for lecturers and student mentors and tutors. The team consists of 11 employees and shows a lot of commitment. The project has successfully established itself in the first months and is appreciated by students and staff. There are regular team meetings, supervision, and project days to strengthen cohesion and exchange among psychologists. The project plans to consider the needs of students and staff and offer various activities, such as lecture series and training. It is also being discussed how the project can be continued after the current funding. The article emphasizes the importance of clear role definition and close integration with the departments for trustworthy and independent counseling. [Extracted from the article]

Intended parents engage with gestational carriers (GCs) to achieve their personal reproductive goals. All GCs have a right to be fully informed of the risks as well as the contractual and legal aspects of the gestational-carrier process. The GCs have autonomy in making their own decisions regarding medical care and should be free from undue influences by the stakeholders involved. They should have free access to and receive psychological evaluation and counseling before, during, and after participating. In addition, GCs require separate independent legal counsel regarding the contract and arrangement. This document replaces the document of the same name, last published in 2018 (Fertil Steril 2018;110:1017–21). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the participation of the prosecutor in the civil trial during the Stalinist period. The article analyzes the various forms of participation of the prosecutor with special attention to his procedural position. The article also addresses the rationale for the prosecutor’s participation and the consequences associated with it. As a result of the changes introduced in 1950, the institution of the prosecutor gained new powers, which were introduced into the Code of Civil Procedure. The study also refers to the influence of Soviet law on Polish law and the expansion of the scope of the prosecutor’s activity at the level of litigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on legal actions against Ridglan Farms for alleged animal cruelty in its dog breeding facility and discusses the activists' demands for investigation, specific cruelty allegations, and recent state inspection findings.

The article analyzes the management and administration of water resources in the state of Morelos, Mexico, using the critique of political economy. It highlights the complexity of the economy and politics of water in Morelos due to the water policy implemented during the neoliberal period. The author uses quantitative and qualitative research techniques to support their arguments and points out the centralization and fragmentation of the economy and politics of water resources in Morelos, as well as the lack of consumer participation in the water management process. The Irrigation Units in the state of Morelos are also mentioned, and the creation of a Water Observatory and a special Prosecutor's Office to address water issues in Morelos is proposed. The book also analyzes sustainability discourses and water privatization in Mexico. [Extracted from the article]

The article "Editorial" in the journal "Behindertenpädagogik" deals with the topic of counseling in the context of the living situation of people with disabilities. It is pointed out that there are a variety of counseling services, but certain groups of people, such as those in special living arrangements or with cognitive impairments, hardly use these services. An evaluation of the Supplementary Independent Participation Counseling Centers (EUTB) shows that there is a significant need for action to improve the participation of these isolated groups of people. The article also includes contributions on various aspects of counseling that reflect the lively discourse on this topic. [Extracted from the article]

This brief introduction explains the historical background of the Hoffman Report, the 2015 independent counsel's investigation into the American Psychological Association's role in aiding 'enhanced interrogations' of detainees in the Bush Administration's Global War on Terror. It also outlines the articles in this special section of History of the Human Sciences on the Hoffman Report in Historical Context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

And then, of course, Ford pardoned him, after sending him with - the young lawyer who was sent to San Clemente to deliver the offer of pardon, had to bring with him a copy of the [1915 US Supreme Court] case [ I Burdick v. United States i ] that says, "If you accept a pardon, you are admitting guilt", because Ford wanted to be sure that Nixon understood that. She was the only woman among the three lead attorneys investigating Nixon's attorney general, chief of staff, and chief domestic adviser, prompting Judge John Sirica to call her the "lawyer lady" and the national press to characterize her as the "miniskirted attorney." [James filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and the Trump organization, including Trump's children, for engaging in financial fraud for economic gain.] But I would say that some of the people involved - Daniel Goldman [the former assistant US attorney who prosecuted Trump in his first impeachment case] and other people involved in the Trump investigations, the impeachments, Russia, all of that - were like we were. Jill Wine-Banks appears regularly on MSNBC as a legal analyst, commenting on the January 6 riot and the administration of President Donald Trump based on her experiences as an assistant special prosecutor in the obstruction-of-justice trial of President Richard Nixon's top aides. [Extracted from the article]

Niger's military rulers have confirmed that rebels sabotaged an oil pipeline carrying crude oil to Benin. The rebel group, the Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL), claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out on June 16th. The pipeline, which is vital to the economies of both countries, has become a source of tension between Niger and Benin. In addition to this incident, Niger has accused Benin of kidnapping five of its nationals, who were arrested at the Seme port. The two countries have not yet reached a long-term solution regarding the loading of Nigerien oil at the port. [Extracted from the article]

This study analyzes the way in which the concept of « consumer counselling » is regulated in Romania, as well as the concrete possibilities of carrying out this activity at national level through various categories of entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duty to intervene (DTI) policies impose an obligation on peer officers to prevent or terminate unreasonable force occurring in their presence. But policing suffers from an organizational culture that may thwart this stated duty. By examining the facts related to the deaths of Eric Garner in New York, Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and George Floyd in Minneapolis against existing DTI policies and the reasonableness requirement articulated in Graham v. Connor, we conclude that their deaths should have been prevented by officer intervention. In an empirical analysis of the standard operating procedures of the police departments for the 30 largest U.S. cities, we found that less than half had DTI policies and that the content of the existing policies varied significantly. This variation may have contributed to our finding that departments with DTI policies did not report fewer officer-involved deaths (OIDs) than departments without such policies. However, nearly half of the departments with DTI policies did report fewer multi-officer OIDs than single-officer OIDs. Compared to departments without DTI policies, more OIDs in departments with DTI policies resulted in formal charges. We recommend mandating the adoption of a uniform DTI policy as a mechanism for enhanced police accountability in officer-involved killings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Estudios Políticos y Estratégicos is the property of Universidad Tecnologica Metropolitana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• This is the first study on experiences related to legal age limits on accessing donor information • Donor information can be important for identity development • Age limits create challenges in terms of dependency on others, autonomy and loyalty to parents • Age limits do not take into account the context of younger siblings within the family • Comprehensive counselling should be available for the whole relational network What are the lived experiences of donor-conceived people, parents, sperm donors and counsellors related to legal age limits on accessing donor information in the Netherlands? A phenomenological study was carried out that included 20 donor-conceived individuals, 15 parents, 6 sperm donors and 5 counsellors. Data were collected through online qualitative in-depth interviews and focus groups. The data were analysed using Dahlberg's Reflective Lifeworld Approach. The results show how: (i) age limits create challenges related to dependency, autonomy and loyalty to parents; (ii) donor information can be important for identity development, which looks different at different ages; (iii) inaccessible information can lead to unfair loss and may be perceived as negative; (iv) relational stability provides a good foundation for dealing with the (in)accessibility of donor information; (v) procedural barriers and age limits increase the inaccessibility of donor information; and (vi) comprehensive counselling is desired for donor-conceived individuals, parents and donors. This study shows that legal age limits on accessing donor information can lead to several negative consequences. The age limits focus on one individual, which is not appropriate for questions about ancestry that always pertain to a relational network. Counselling should be tailored to the child's needs, and the child's family should be involved. Furthermore, the donor should receive independent counselling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of BE N'ius - Beiträge aus der Berner Justiz Contributions de la Justice Bernoise is the property of University Library of Bern and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)